When a Hero Comes Along…

byAllison (AllureofBooks)onDecember 15, 2011

Character Connection is hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader, giving us a chance to talk about our favorite book characters!

You guys, SAMWISE GAMGEE! Why have I not talked about him on the blog before, seriously? Now, to be fair – I am mostly influenced by movie Sam, because I haven’t read the books since Jr. High. But still…he is like the Ron Weasley/Neville Longbottom of The Lord of the Rings.

When things first get going, Samwise Gamgee starts off as the amiable sidekick. You don’t really expect much out of him – just to do what is expected and provide a little comedic relief. Well, by the end of Lord of the Rings, he sure showed me! You guys, I can’t get through any of the movies without tearing up at something heroic and unexpected (well, not unexpected by the end) that this guy says or does. He might start off as being a side character, but by the end Samwise Gamgee stands out as one of the biggest heroes of the bunch.

Here are some of my favorite of Sam’s (movie) quotes:

Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!

By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Sam: I wonder if people will ever say, ‘Let’s hear about Frodo and the Ring.’ And they’ll say ‘Yes, that’s one of my favorite stories. Frodo was really courageous, wasn’t he, Dad?’ ‘Yes, my boy, the most famousest of hobbits. And that’s saying a lot.’
Frodo: You’ve left out one of the chief characters – Samwise the Brave. I want to hear more about Sam. Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam.
Sam: Now Mr. Frodo, you shouldn’t make fun; I was being serious.
Frodo: So was I.

I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise. “Don’t you leave him Samwise Gamgee.” And I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to.

Great posting! Although I always found Sam annoying in LOTR…I guess I was more of a Merry and Pippin fan, or spent too much time drooling over Aragorn to really care what him and Frodo were up to. But he is quite the hero! I really need to appreciate him more!Natalie recently posted..Book Review: The Spellman Files